Manchester United have endured a topsy-turvy period under Erik Ten Hag this term and one player has now been ripped into by pundit Frank McAvennie after an update on his future emerged at Old Trafford.
Manchester United's club culture…
Over the last decade or so since Sir Alex Ferguson departed Manchester United, there is no doubt that the culture at the club has changed somewhat and they have struggled to live up to their former glories, with only moderate brief periods of quantifiable success amid a mire of inconsistency on the field at Old Trafford.
Truthfully, the Red Devils have never managed to build from the position of strength that Ferguson left them in; however, many would argue he did extremely well to continually excel in the early 2010s despite possessing an ageing squad and mounting debt under the much-maligned Glazer family.
Whatever the reason for their decline, Manchester United look set to change their approach under Sir Jim Ratcliffe's incoming investment group as INEOS prepare to complete their 25% purchase of the Premier League giants in the imminent future. According to Sky Sports, the Red Devils will look to take a more lenient approach to terminating contracts if it is deemed as something that is for the greater good of the football club.
Serhou Guirassy
19th December
Nico Williams
19th December
Donyell Malen
8th December
Max Moerstedt
7th December
Timo Werner
1st December
The report claims Ten Hag's men want to become more "culture-focused" and could look to follow a similar path to that of Arsenal, who cut ties with the likes of Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe to help enhance standards at the club as they strive to create an environment to achieve footballing excellence. The process of activating 12-month extensions will also come under greater scrutiny and will only be enacted if absolutely necessary.
Now, one man looks set to become a victim of these new proposals and he has also been ripped into by former Scotland international McAvennie for his performances over the course of his Manchester United career.
Frank McAvennie slams Anthony Martial
As per Football Insider, pundit McAvennie has slammed Manchester United striker Anthony Martial for his performances over the course of his career at the club after it emerged that he is likely to leave either in January or next summer on a free transfer when his deal at Old Trafford expires, with Ten Hag's men set to overlook his 12-month contract extension option.
Anthony Martial's career statistics at Manchester United (Transfermarkt)
Appearances
Goals
Assists
317
90
55
Anthony Martial's key statistics in 2023/24 (as provided by Sofascore)
Scoring frequency
461 minutes
Expected goals
1.22
Shots per game
0.5
Shots on target per game
0.3
Goal conversion
17%
McAvennie told the outlet: "He has no pass marks whatsoever. He hasn’t done himself any justice. There was one time a few seasons ago when he did a good trick, but that’s all he’s done! I agree with Roy Keane. I see him talking about Martial and [Keane] loves Man United, but even he doesn’t like him. He says more or less the same as what I’m thinking – just like with Bruno Fernandes."
He then added: "There’s no fight in Martial. If he’s not going to fight for Man United at home, what chance do they have away from home? You can’t just be up for one game; you have to give it every game. It’s disgraceful."
Manchester United and Martial could do with a clean break and Ten Hag may finally inherit the opportunity to introduce some new blood to his forward line over the coming windows.
